2022 CPL West All-Stars vs CPL East All-Stars

CPL All-Star Game To Be Held For First Time Since 2019

CPL All-Star Game To Be Held For First Time Since 2019

Standouts of the Coastal Plain League will come together in Holly Springs, North Carolina, on July 10 for the first CPL All-Star Game in three years.

Jul 7, 2022 by Kyle Kensing
CPL All-Star Game To Be Held For First Time Since 2019

Standouts of the Coastal Plain League will come together in Holly Springs, North Carolina, on July 10 for the first CPL All-Star Game in three years. 

The 2022 edition of the prestigious summer league's midseason showcase marks the first since 2019, as the event was not held in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic. Expect this year's All-Star Game to make up for lost time, thanks to the bevy of elite talent headlining each roster. 

West All-Star Starters

Catcher: Indiana Stanley, Savannah Bananas (Columbia)  

The Savannah Bananas have become an international sensation thanks to their unique presentation. But, along with the showmanship, is some high-quality baseball. Case in point, Indiana Stanley is one of three Bananas starting for the West All-Stars. 

Stanley is batting .307 through 26 games with three home runs, three triples and 15 RBIs. Stanley also has been a threat on the base paths, collecting five stolen bases. 

First Base: Brock Vradenburg, Lexington County Blowfish (Michigan State) 

One of the CPL's leaders - both in getting on base, sporting a league-best 22 walks drawn, as well as clearing them as the owner of 22 RBIs (second-most in the CPL), Brock Vradenburg earns the start at first base for the West All-Stars. 

In addition to his plate savvy, Vradenburg leads CPL first basemen with 13 assists on the season. 

Second Base: Crosby Jones, Lexington County Blowfish (The Citadel) 

Crosby Jones heads into the All-Star Game batting a robust .342. A product of The Citadel, he put together a hitting streak of five games this summer, including three consecutive outings with multiple base hits. 

Shortstop: Justin Johnson, HP-Thomasville HiToms (Lafayette College) 

With a run-producing four multiple-hit games in his last five appearances - including back-to-back three-hit outings - there might not be a hotter bat in the All-Star Game than Justin Johnson's. 

The HiToms shortstop has 20 assists and a .970 fielding percentage, and he even made an appearance on the hill, where he struck out a batter and gave up no runs in 1 ? innings. 

Third Base: Eli Weisner, HP-Thomasville HiToms (Louisburg College) 

Eli Weisner rolls into the All-Star Game sporting an OPS that has hovered around 1.000 for much of the season, a slugging percentage approaching .600 and batting average in the mid .300s. 

Weisner's knocked out four home runs heading into the All-Star Game and collected 19 RBIs. 

Outfield: Armando Becerra, Savannah Bananas (Erskine) 

Another Savannah representative appearing on the West All-Stars, Armando Becerra is batting a solid .340 and has been a terror with 10 stolen bases. One item that won't necessarily show up in his statistics: He's unflappable at the plate, showing discipline even when a belly flop is afoot. 

Outfield: Cameron Pittman, Martinsville Mustangs (Radford) 

Cameron Pittman's .413 batting average is second-best in the CPL at the midway point. He has not let up since opening the summer with six multiple base-hit appearances in the first eight games. 

In addition to his reliability at the plate, Pittman is among the league's premier base-stealers with 12 collected thus far in 2022. 

Outfield: Drew Yniesta, Savannah Bananas (Lenoir-Rhyne) 

Clutch-hitting Drew Yniesta rounds out the Savannah contingent starting for the West All-Stars and gives the roster another potentially dangerous bat. Yniesta is batting just shy of .300 and has three games with two extra-base hits on the season. 

DH: Braylin Marine, Lexington County Blowfish (Newberry) 

Boasting a 13-game hitting streak at one point this season, and with knocks in 16-of-17 appearances heading into the All-Star Game, Braylin Marine is one of the surest things the CPL has at the plate. 

Pitcher: Dalton Pence, Forest City Owls (North Carolina) 

Dalton Pence has represented perennial collegiate contender North Carolina well in the CPL season. The West All-Stars starting lefty sports a 0.93 ERA in 2022 with 22 strikeouts in 29 innings of work. 

East All-Star Starters 

Catcher: Robert Brooks, Holly Springs Salamanders (Columbus State) 

Sporting a .352 batting average and OPS over 1.000, Robert Brooks earned the honor of starting behind the plate and representing the host club in this year's CPL All-Star Game. 

First Base: Brandon Eike, Tri-City Chili Peppers (North Carolina) 

Brandon Eike's CPL-leading eight home runs include a streak of three consecutive games with a round-tripper. 

Second Base: McGwire Tuffy, Morehead City Marlins (Quinnipiac) 

The momentum McGwire Tuffy built playing his best ball late in the season for Quinnipiac carried over into the CPL. The Morehead City second baseman is batting .311, has drawn 15 walks and has driven in 11. 

Tuffy's summer performance includes two five-game hitting streaks. 

Shortstop: Andrew Ciufo, Wilmington Sharks (Georgetown) 

Andrew Ciufo has shined both offensively and defensively for the Wilmington Sharks this CPL season. The Georgetown product is hitting .354, while sporting a .943 fielding percentage with 42 assists at shortstop.  

Third Base: Aaron Smigelski, Wilson Tobs (Rice) 

An excellent season for college powerhouse Rice (.271 batting average with 39 RBIs) translated nicely to the CPL for Aaron Smigelski. Smigelski has helped power the Wilson Tobs to the tune of a .339 batting average and OPS over 1.000. 

Smigelski has collected eight RBIs during a five-game streak heading into the All-Star Game. 

Outfield: Ethan Ott, Wilson Tobs (UNC Pembroke) 

Ethan Ott heads into the All-Star Game one of 20 batters in the entire CPL with 17-plus RBIs, and he is one of only six from that group with a batting average of .300 or better. 

Ott's combination of timely hitting and consistency continues from an excellent collegiate season, in which he batted .345 for UNC Pembroke. 

Outfield: Ben Watson, Morehead City Marlins (Elizabethtown College) 

Ben Watson has done it all offensively for Morehead City. The Marlins outfielder is hitting a CPL-best .414, has drawn 15 walks and has stolen seven bases. 

Outfield: Sean Johnson, Morehead City Marlins (Belmont Abbey) 

Another consistent plate presence for Morehead City appearing on the East All-Stars is Sean Johnson. Johnson is batting .325 on the season with 19 RBIs. 

He also boasts an impressive five games this summer with three or more hits, including a five-hit outing on June 7.  

DH: Elijah Dickerson, Peninsula Pilots (Towson) 

It has been a 2022 of accolades for Elijah Dickerson. The All-Colonial Athletic Association honoree at Towson adds CPL All-Star starter to this resume, thanks to a first half of the summer in which he hit .313 with six doubles and a pair of home runs for Peninsula. 

Pitcher: Tyler Wehrle, Morehead City Marlins (Tiffin) 

Dominance has been the order of the day for Tyler Wehrle in 2022. The Morehead City pitcher has struck out 38 batters this season, third-most in the CPL, and maintained an ERA below 2.00.